Costa Rican Honkey-Tonk???

So last night I arrived back at my house and my host mother wanted to know if I would like to come with her to the local bar. Well, of course I did, and it was something to see! The best way to describe it is a honkey tonk. I think it was one of the most cultural experiences I've ever had! LOL My host mother knew almost everyone in the bar, and also 3 (or 4) of her brothers were there, along with numerous nephews. Yes, one nephew who is 11 years old apparantly works at this bar, which I do not think he would even be allowed to be in if we were in the US. We had a great time, listened to some great (and not so great) karaoke singers, all who were singing songs in Espanol. Also in attendance at this bar were babies, young children, and one pregnant lady. It was a great time, but I was exhausted today!

Getting back to the weekend...I had such a wonderful time in Manuel Antonio. I decided to skip class on Friday and on Thursday I took the 3:30 bus from Alajuela to Manuel Antonio, which took about 2 1/2 hours. The bus took me to the hotel of 2 of my friends from Georgia, Jim and Chris. They were taking a little weekend trip and invited me to come hang out for a bit. On Thursday night we had some dinner and drinks. On Friday morning we went white water rafting! We took a little bus up to the beginning of the rafting trip. OMG I couldn't belive how beautiful it was there! It totally looked like something out of a movie. I think we got some really good pics! Anyway, the rafting was tons of fun and we stopped for lunch about half-way down the river. I had such an awesome time.

Later that day we went to the beach and to happy hour on the beach. So fun! My friend Lori from school took the bus on Friday to Manuel Antonio, so I met her at our hotel later that night. Saturday was such a beautiful day, so Lori and I took a guided tour of the national park at Manuel Antonio. We saw lots of different animals including 2 different types of monkeys, sloths, birds, bats, etc. We also saw 2 very beautiful beaches, one of which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I believe it!

So, the rest of my trip to MA just involved laying out at the beach, happy hour, and eating. Sounds like a pretty good vacation I guess. We were verrrryyy lucky because both Saturday and Sunday were such beautiful days!

This is my last week of school, and I am a little sad because most of my friends have now left. :( The only person from my teacher group is Patricia (from Kenya). I like my teacher this week, and in my class it's only me and one other girl, Claudia who is from Germany. I think it's going to be a good week!

I'm super excited because my friend Jessica is coming from NYC on Saturday. We're headed to the beach until Wednesday, when I'll come back to the US. So, while the guy sitting next to me is looking at half-naked men on Facebook, I will sign off! LOL! Hasta luego!